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KFC drive thru

A jobs boost is on the menu for Motherwell, if North Lanarkshire Councillors give KFC the go-ahead for a new drive through family restaurant in the town centre.

KFC and Chester Properties, who operate Motherwell Shopping Centre have submitted a joint planning application for a new restaurant, which would create between 40 and 50 local jobs.

The development, in the Brandon Parade South car park at Merry Street, also represents a further £500,000-plus investment in Motherwell Shopping Centre by Chester Properties, who will build the iconic single story building and lease it to KFC.

Neil Armour-Smith, KFC’s senior property acquisition manager said: “We are really keen to open in Motherwell, in what would be an ideal location for us at the heart of the town centre.

“The jobs we create would all go to local people, and with a 60/40 split between part time and full time posts there would be lots of opportunities for single parents and others with family commitments to work the hours that suit them.

“We invest heavily in staff training and with 67% of our managers appointed as internal promotions KFC offer good career opportunities.

“We are also looking forward to working with Chester Properties who are doing an excellent job in developing Motherwell Shopping Centre”.

In a covering letter Chester and KFC say the application proposals are an important element of Chester Properties’ ongoing investment in Motherwell Shopping Centre.
They also say the proposals are entirely consistent with the Council’s aspirations to enhance and modernise the town centre environment.
KFC are already a significant employer in North Lanarkshire, with four other restaurants in Wishaw, Cumbernauld, Coatbridge and Monklands. Motherwell would push the company’s total employment levels over 200 people, generating a wage bill of £1.2m a year.
William Gear Director of Chester Properties said: “If this development gets the go-ahead it will be another exciting milestone in the development of Motherwell Shopping Centre.

“Apart from creating jobs it would give our customers more choice, and extend the time they spend in the Centre, which could only be good for all the traders”.

“We are confident our commitment to £500,000 investment in this development, on top of the half a million pound refurbishment programme we funded last year, will pay dividends for everyone involved”.